September 27, 2017

GREATEST WAR EVER:

A huge crowd flooded central Tehran in a sea of red and black on Wednesday to mourn a soldier who has become a symbol of the fight against the Islamic State group.

Last month's capture and beheading of Mohsen Hojaji, a 25-year-old volunteer with the Revolutionary Guards, has triggered a rare outpouring of public support for Iran's military campaigns in Syria and Iraq.

The stoic image of Hojaji standing with a brutal-looking IS militant holding a knife to his back went viral last month, and his memorial service filled Imam Hossein Square in Tehran and jammed the streets all around.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met Hojaji's relatives ahead of the service, saying: "There are many martyrs and all are dear before God Almighty, but there is something special about this young man."